Jim Harbaugh provided a handful of newsy updates on his wide receiver corps on Friday.

The rookie wide receiver suffered a fracture to a metatarsal bone in his foot during his first extended action of the season on Thursday night in St. Louis, Jim Harbaugh revealed on Friday afternoon.

Harbaugh said Patton will be kept on the team’s 53-man roster as he recovers from his injury. There was no timetable offered for his return. San Francisco already used its temporary injured reserve spot on rookie linebacker Nick Moody, who broke his right hand and is expected to be back after Week 7.

The injury bug has now bitten Patton twice. The Louisiana Tech product broke his left index finger while attempting to catch a Colt McCoy-thrown pass from reserve quarterback Colt McCoy before the start of training camp in July.

On Thursday, he received more playing time than he had Weeks 1, 2 and 3. Patton, San Francisco’s fourth-round draftee last April, caught a right-side screen pass for no gain during the team’s second possession of the game.

Harbaugh said it was inacurrate to state that Patton had jumped ahead of relative veterans Kyle Williams and Marlon Moore on the depth chart. Moore was inactive for the first time in Week 4.

Tight end Vernon Davis was active on Thursday after missing Sunday's loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Harbaugh revealed Davis had a tear in his hamstring and wasn't sure if the Pro Bowler was 100 percent healthy.

In any case, Davis played as if he was, catching two passes for 18 ards, including his 12-yard touchdown catch, which increased the 49ers lead to 21-3 in Thursday’s third quarter.

“He's a special creation," Harbaugh said. "He has different kind of blood flowing through him than you or I for sure."

Also on the receivers front, Harbaugh continued to express his enthusiasm for Jon Baldwin. Taking Moore’s spot on gameday, Baldwin made two catches on third-down plays, including a 15-yard grab that preceded Davis' scoring play.

“He has a competitive heart. Just see it. I don’t know how to explain it, its just something you see," Harbaugh said of Baldwin's mentality. "As a bird-watcher, you notice the giss of a bird by watching it fly. I felt like sometimes I have an eye for a competitive heart.

"He made a couple of tough catches. There’ll be more action for him.”

As for how playing time will shake out now that Patton has been sidelined, Harbaugh stressed that every member of the position group, which includes special teamer Kassim Osgood, is motivated. They all seek to start alongside Anquan Boldin, who impressed Harbaugh with his down-field blocking in the 49ers running game.

“Everyone has that license,” the coach said. “It all means so much to ‘em.”